Frozen Prisoner
by Fernalidana
Summary: Broken loose from years of imprisonment, Jedite seeks out the ones that caused him his many years of torment...


Disclaimer: I wrote this for a random Writer's Test, and I liked it so much I just had to post it up here. If you can believe this, I wrote this whole thing in a little less than two hours!

**Frozen Prisoner**

The chilly air slapped against the window, trying in vain to  
enter the warm cafe that the glass protected. Sitting alone at one of the  
booths was a young woman with long green hair that cascaded past her  
shoulders to rest snugly at her waist. She wore a warm turtleneck to protect  
herself from the frigid air awaiting her, and her delicate hands were  
hugging a cup of hot tea. She lifted the glass and rested it to her lips.  
Before she could take a drink, however, something stopped her.  
  
_What's this?_ she thought. _I feel... but that's impossible. It can't be... He  
can't be back...  
_  
A creeping sensation danced on her spine like sharp needles. She closed her  
eyes and tried to ignore the evil vibrations she was sensing, hoping that  
this wasn't what she thought it was.  
  
---  
  
A prison, frozen forever in a moment. A look of horror etched on his  
features. One word frozen in his mind: failure. It echoed and resounded, his  
only companion in the quiet. He saw their faces as well. Haunted with no  
means of escape from it. Not dead, but forced into a torturous limbo that  
seemed much worse than death could possibly be.  
  
_Let me die! Someone end my misery, I beg you!_  
  
But no one heard him in the void. Even if his words could be voiced, they  
would never escape his icy prison.  
  
Like a breath of air after drowning in water, a tingling warmth greeted his  
frame. He could feel the barrier that kept him in perpetual torture begin to  
melt away. Was he dreaming, hallucinating in his pain, or... did he dare  
accept it as truth? The ice was melting quicker now, or perhaps he only  
imagined that. Either way, it was gone from his body before he could prepare  
for it. His limp, wet form fell to the ground.  
  
Every inch of his body wet and freezing, he laid there shivering on the cold  
hard floor. He blinked off droplets of water that clung to his eyelashes. He  
could feel every ache in his body and knew that this was not a dream. How  
and why he did not know, but he was free.  
  
---  
  
The cruel ice of winter melted away to allow flora to sprout again,  
heralding spring. Found breathing in the fresh air was a girl with vibrant  
red hair and her companion, a boy with mousy brown hair and large round  
glasses.  
  
"Isn't this a beautiful day, Melvin?" asked the girl in her York accent.  
  
"It sure is, Molly!" agreed the boy cheerfully. The girl giggled at her  
boyfriend's enthusiasm and slipped her fingers into his.  
  
As they walked through the park, they unexpectedly came upon the limp form  
of a man. The couple paused in their stride, observing the form with a  
mixture of fear and concern. The man was stretched out on the grass, his  
blonde hair sticking to his head and his body clad in a blue outfit that  
clung to his body.  
  
"Is he okay?" wondered Molly in a hushed whisper. Slowly she began to inch  
towards him.  
  
"Careful, Molly!" warned Melvin. "He could be dangerous!"  
  
"He could be hurt," she retorted. She came up to the man's limp body and  
knelt down next to him. Suddenly one of his hands shot out and grabbed her  
ankle. She let out a shriek of surprise. Hearing his lady love in danger,  
Melvin sprung into action.  
  
"Don't worry, Molly! Tuxedo Melvin will save you!" In an instant he had  
transformed into his "alter ego". Poor Molly could only roll her eyes.  
  
"Melvin, I'm okay. I was just surprised." The annoyed expression she wore  
started to fade. Her eyes became heavy; it was hard for her to stay  
conscious.  
  
"Stop, fiend!" shouted Tuxedo Melvin. "Leave her alone!" He rushed forward  
to deal the offender a blow. The man, looking so helpless only moments  
before, lifted his other hand and somehow blasted the boy off his feet.  
  
"MELVIN!!!"  
  
---  
  
"Hey, I'm picking up some weird vibes," hissed Raye. She, Serena, and Amy  
were taking a relaxing stroll through the woods. They hardly got any days  
like this one now that they were in high school, even without their duties  
as Sailor Scouts keeping them busy. Naturally, hearing Raye make this  
declaration did not put Serena in the best of moods.  
  
"Always the herald of bad news! Can't you sense something good for a  
change?"  
  
"Lay off, meatball head! We've got a serious situation on our hands!"  
  
"Don't call me meatball head!" But Raye wasn't listening; she had already  
transformed. Seeing that Raye was serious about this, Amy did the same.  
Serena let out a heavy sigh. "There goes our peaceful afternoon! Moon Crisis  
Power!"  
  
The three senshi rushed into battle. Mars led the other two to a section of  
the park with a fountain trickling water. They first spotted Tuxedo Melvin,  
lying unconscious on the grass. Not far from him was Molly in the same  
condition. Sailor Moon knelt down next to her two friends to make sure they  
were all right.  
  
"Their energy's been drained," reported Mercury. "Look at this!" She pointed  
to a spot of grass where the blades were bent. "Someone has been here  
recently!"  
  
"I'm still here..." It was a voice all three of the girls recognized, but it  
couldn't possibly be him. Slowly, cautiously, the girls turned to face the  
person speaking.  
  
Standing before them with his wet hair clinging to his head was none other  
than Jedite, one of Queen Beryl's four generals. The girls stood with their  
mouths gaping open. They were certain that he had died; how could he have  
come back, and why now, so many years after they fought him?  
  
"Jedite!" they shouted in unison.  
  
"You'll pay," he rasped. "You'll pay for it all. Every second I spent being  
tortured... You'll pay." Before they could recover from the shock of him  
being there, he attacked.  
  
He went for Sailor Moon first, shooting a wave of negative energy at her.  
She barely danced away. Jedite didn't even seem to notice; he kept pelting  
her with attacks. Mercury stepped in to help her friend and she too was  
subjected to multiple blasts of negative energy.  
  
Meanwhile Sailor Mars stayed in the back, her mind working. She had noticed  
something about Jedite that puzzled her: his eyes no longer held the steel  
coldness she remembered so well from the time he had worked in the temple  
under the name Jed. Instead, his eyes now held... sadness. What could it  
have felt like to be damned into eternal torture? What did he go through  
while he was locked away? She couldn't believe it, but she found herself  
sympathizing with her enemy.  
  
"Stop! Stop it! Mars Fire Ignite!" The column of flame shot out from her  
fingertips and blasted her two friends.  
  
"YEOWCH!!" shrieked Sailor Moon. She and Sailor Mercury plunked into the  
nearby fountain to douse the flames. They sat there for a moment, their hair  
partially singed. Jedite paused in his attack; he stared over at Sailor  
Mars, looking puzzled. Sailor Moon was first to recover.  
  
"Raye, what's the big idea?! Jedite's the enemy, not us!"  
  
"No, he isn't," she said quietly. She kept her eyes on Jedite, not wanting  
to see her friends' reaction. Her dark orbs swam in his blue ones, so much  
like a storm at sea. Jedite slowly lowered his hands.  
  
"Raye?" he asked. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me," she confirmed, changing back into her school clothes.  
Sailor Moon scrambled out of the fountain and went up to her friend, shaking  
the other girl on the shoulders.  
  
"Have you gone mad? Don't you even remember what this guy did to us?" Raye  
sighed and shrugged of Sailor Moon's gloved hands.  
  
"Don't you remember all the enemies we've forgiven over the years?" Sailor  
Moon opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Raye moved passed her  
to face Jedite again.  
  
"We did what we had to do to protect our friends. What happened to you  
wasn't our fault; that was Beryl's doing. I'm sorry you had to go through  
it."  
  
"Why are you saying this?" asked Jedite. _Why is she being so nice to me? Why  
is she looking at me like that?_ Her eyes were on him, as if searching for  
his sins. Having her speak to him with such kindness made him painfully  
aware of them all. He didn't want her to see.  
  
"Jedite, you can be our friend if you want," she continued. She moved  
towards him. He instinctively backed away.  
  
"No, I can't! Get away!" She gave him a hurt look, her dark eyes shimmering  
with sadness. _Don't look at me! _He had to get away from her. He turned and  
teleported away.  
  
"Jedite!" she shouted. "Come back!"  
  
---  
  
So can you tell me  
So I can finally see  
Where you go when you're gone  
  
---  
  
He couldn't stop thinking about her, and how she had reached out to him with  
no questions asked. Why? Surely he deserved nothing from her save hatred.  
Why, then, did her eyes gaze at him with kindness? Why did she even care?  
  
He stood in the shadows, watching her kneel before the flames. He had seen  
this before but she was younger then. Her features were more mature now,  
more beautiful. He watched her shadow leap on the walls and couldn't take  
his eyes off of her.  
  
"Raye..." He spoke her name in a whisper. Her dark eyes opened and she  
turned to him. Her lips curled into a smile. His insides sank to his toes.  
Why was she acting like he was a friend instead of an enemy?  
  
"You're back," she said.  
  
"Why did you--"  
  
"I saw it in your eyes," she responded.  
  
"My... eyes?"  
  
"Yes. Your eyes were sad." She stood up and walked over to him. To his great  
surprise, she took his hands in hers. "I know how it feels to be alone. But  
you don't have to be."  
  
"Yes... I do," he said sadly. "I'm sorry." He had no control over what he  
did next. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her lips.  
He pulled away, his face bright red.  
  
"Goodbye, Raye."  
  
---  
  
If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted was somebody who cared  
  
  


  
**~End**


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